Faithful Friends Animal Society, this week marked the opening of its new headquarters at 165 Airport Road, New Castle.
The center is behind the former Department of Motor Vehicles service site that now houses the Colonial School District transportation center. The organization had been based in an industrial area on Germay Drive, near Wilmington.
The new facility will provide Faithful Friends staff, volunteers, and visitors with the increased capacity needed to shelter, train and care for more animals.
The new space also offers increased green space for dogs and visitors. Pet owners will continue to have access to community veterinary care, a pet food bank, and obedience training, among other services.
“When we started Faithful Friends, publicly funded shelters in Delaware had a 90 percent kill rate. Today, Delaware is one of just three no-kill states in the country,” said Jane Pierantozzi, founder and executive director of Faithful Friends. “Moving into this new facility is the perfect next chapter for Faithful Friends. I’m so proud of the work our organization has accomplished since we started. This new facility brings more opportunities to continue being the voice for animals and a support system for pet owners.”
Founded in 2000, Faithful Friends began as a grassroots advocacy group and has been instrumental in major reforms
The organization worked with state officials on Delaware’s first spay/neuter legislation. This legislation created a public spay/neuter fund for pet owners on public assistance and required all shelters to spay/neuter pets before adoption.
Faithful Friends also opened Delaware’s first free pet food and supply bank, which became a model for other organizations in the state.
The organization also advocated for the creation of Delaware’s Animal Shelter Standards Law, which overhauled how shelters manage animals in their care and required shelters to publish their animal outcomes.
It also pushed for Delaware’s animal welfare services to be considered a supportive state agency, leading to the creation of the Office of Animal Welfare under the Department of Health and Human Services.
Faithful Friends’ new facility is open Tuesday through Friday noon to 7 p.m., and Saturday 12 to 5 p.m. For more information and resources, visit faithfulfriends.us.
